Constellations are memorable maps to the stars, dating back many thousands of years.

Many of the constellations are associated with the Gods and Godesses of ancient Greek mythology.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has divided the sky into 88 official constellations with exact boundaries, so that every direction or location in the sky belongs to one constellation. Astronomers use this as a rough guideline for location objects, e.g. when they say that Mars is in the constellation of Gemini, it can be found within the borders of the constellation. The constellations that the Sun pass through each year are known as the Zodiac.

Gemini

The Twins

One of the constellations of the zodiac known as "the twins". It is part of the winter sky, lying between Taurus to the west and the dim Cancer to the east, with Auriga and the near-invisible Lynx to the north and Monoceros and Canis Minor to the south. The Gemini program is named for it.

Gemini Mythology

This constellation is easily recognizable as two parallel stick figures and it was associated with the myth of Castor and Pollux. The myth of these twins concerns cattle theft, and may be connected to early views of the Milky Way, as a herd of dairy cows or cattle, by which they are situated.

Further Information

It contains many interesting nebulae and star clusters. NGC 2158 is just southeast of M35. Also of note is the unique Eskimo Nebula, (also known as the Clownface Nebula) just southeast of the NGC 2420 open star cluster. Far northeast of this cluster lies NGC 2371, a planetary nebula next to the Gemini twin on the right.

Gemini Photographs

 

Taken on 2005-11-13, 1 views